More Than She Bargained For
by FlyingTackle
Summary: Dead. Completely discontinued. The author has realized that this story's plot is really, really stupid, and has therefore abandoned it entirely. :D
1. Thoughts and Dreams

Title: More Than She Bargained For

Author: Kiba's Mewse (previously known as RikuWhoHasNoLastName, though not by many people)

Description: A young teen named Lilli is bored with her life and wishes she could just get away from it all, but what happens when she ends up doing just a little more than that?

A/N: Hey, this is Kiba's Mewse with her very first fic here! I hope you all like it, and I am always open to suggestions and/or constructive criticism! Flames will be ignored and will do absolutely NOTHING to my self-confidence, so if you still feel the need to vent to me you should know that you are wasting your time.

P.S. If you do not like original characters and/or good spelling and grammar, then you have come to the wrong fic, my friend!

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Kingdom Hearts, the great and mighty corporation of Square Enix does (and Disney…bleh). Yes, I own this FanFiction, so please do not steal it.

**Chapter One: Thoughts and Dreams**

"…" Lilli sighed as she tucked the flyaway hairs away from in front of her eyes for the thousandth time as she labored over the homework she should have started on hours ago. She glanced at her alarm clock, which read 11:17. _Another late night, I guess._ Today had been the same as always; not much had happened. She had just sat around the house, which was always a mess, playing video games or the computer while her family buzzed around, not doing much either. Both of her parents worked, but to Lilli she felt like she was spending just a bit more time around them than she needed to. _If only I could get into something extra-curricular, or at least the occasional babysitting job would be nice…I know I have what it takes to do something useful, but I've gotten into such a habit of being lazy that it's hard to actually do something that requires physical activity…wow, I sound so pathetic… _Lilli was most commonly found on the internet, she definitely spent too much time staring at a screen.

Lilli heard a soft creak as her bedroom door was pushed open by her cat. Interrupted from her thoughts, she looked at the clock again. It blinked 11:49. She hated those red, blinking numbers; they always changed too quickly, as if they couldn't wait to keep counting the minutes that Lilli should have spent sleeping but didn't. Her cat jumped up onto her bed and rubbed insistently against Lilli's hand; she scratched his head absently. She sighed again and looked down at what she had accomplished. _It's definitely less than I'd hoped for, but I'll just have to finish it on the bus. I can't afford any more 4-hour nights of sleep… _A wry smile crossed her lips as she contemplated doing her homework on the dark bus at 6:40 in the morning.

As she put her books away in her bag and turned out her bedroom light, she thought about what the next day might bring to her. It was not all that long ago that she had learned how much it helps to remain optimistic and keep looking forward even if it seems as if there is nothing to look forward to. Not bothering to change into pajamas--she seldom did--Lilli slipped beneath the warm covers of her bed and let her mind drift to one of its favorite places, which was the world of anime. She thought about her favorite game Kingdom Hearts, which she had just played that afternoon, and imagined how amazing it would be to wake up on the Destiny Islands. _If only things like that were possible…if only… _not long after, she was soundly asleep.

**If only she knew what was to become of her in only a few short hours…**

Riku tossed and turned in his sleep, unable to remain comfortable for very long. He was having a nightmare, which was not a rare occurrence considering how much he had been through. The image of a person he had never seen before swam to the front of his thoughts. It was a girl, and she had a troubled expression on her face. Riku could see her mouth the words, "Where am I?" He began to ask her who she was, but couldn't convey any sort of message before she dissolved into the dream. Suddenly, Riku's eyes snapped open, and he sat up in bed drenched in a cold sweat.

A bad dream. That's how Lilli would have described what she was having right now. She was running through unfamiliar surroundings, and they seemed to be running past her as well. Everything was rushing by her in a blur of color, and the wind was blowing so hard in her ears she wasn't sure if she would even be able to hear her own voice. It continued to get louder and faster, and when Lilli just couldn't bear it anymore, it all stopped. Now she had no surroundings at all—she wasn't even sure what she was standing on, because there appeared to be nothing beneath her feet, or anywhere else. She stared frantically around for something, anything she could recognize and tie her to the world she knew. Then, she saw a face swimming in front of her eyes, one she knew. It was Riku, and Lilli was overjoyed to finally see something she recognized, even if he wasn't a real person. Her mouth formed the words, "Where am I?" When no sound came out, all she could do was look pleadingly at Riku, who was about to reply, but not before the nothingness started creeping in on her, seeping into her as though it was trying to swallow her up. Lilli gasped for air, but there was none, and when she reached an arm out in front of her she was half-shocked to realize that there was nothing there to see. Then she disappeared completely, and her frantic thoughts subsided into a dull silence, lulling her back into a deep sleep, which her mind welcomed as a break from the frantic dream.

A/N: So how did you like the first chapter? Sorry it was so short, but I hope to make up for it in future chapters (that is, if I get any reviewers)…Besides, this chapter was mainly serving as a prologue anyway... I hope everybody had a wonderful New Year's! I will update as soon as I get three reviews! Laters! -


	2. Arrival

Title: More Than She Bargained For

Author: Kiba's Mewse (previously known as RikuWhoHasNoLastName, though not by many people)

A/N: Hiya, all! From now on I will be adding the last paragraph from the previous chapter before I start with the new chapter, because I thought it would be nice to give you a refresher before starting with the new material, so if you don't like it, you can skip it since it will be in bold anyway! Yup! Also, I forgot to mention this before, but this story takes place after the ending from Kingdom Hearts II, which also applies to the age/appearance of the characters.

Reviews:

**FriendlyFangirl: **Thank you for being my very first reviewer! To answer your question I do plan on putting a small bit of KairiXSora in, although it isn't my main priority.

Thanks to **Edward Cullen's Girl **and **cloudk9**(-) as well.

P.S. For anybody who read my first chapter right after I posted it, I added another paragraph on the end, but you can read it here too. Sorry about that!

Disclaimer: Not mine.

**A bad dream. That's how Lilli would have described what she was having right now. She was running through unfamiliar surroundings, and they seemed to be running past her as well. Everything was rushing by her in a blur of color, and the wind was blowing so hard in her ears she wasn't sure if she would even be able to hear her own voice. It continued to get louder and faster, and when Lilli just couldn't bear it anymore, it all stopped. Now she had no surroundings at all—she wasn't even sure what she was standing on, because there appeared to be nothing beneath her feet, or anywhere else. She stared frantically around for something, anything she could recognize and tie her to the world she knew. Then, she saw a face swimming in front of her eyes, one she knew. It was Riku, and Lilli was overjoyed to finally see something she recognized, even if he wasn't a real person. Her mouth formed the words, "Where am I?" When no sound came out, all she could do was look pleadingly at Riku, who was about to reply, but not before the nothingness started creeping in on her, seeping into her as though it was trying to swallow her up. Lilli gasped for air, but there was none, and when she reached an arm out in front of her she was half-shocked to realize that there was nothing there to see. Then she disappeared completely, and her frantic thoughts subsided into a dull silence, lulling her back into a deep sleep, which her mind welcomed as a break from the frantic dream.**

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**Chapter Two: Arrival**

"Nnnn…" Lilli awoke the following morning to have her senses assailed with unfamiliarity. She was laying face-down, with her cheek pressed to what felt like sand, and she could hear ocean waves in close proximity to herself. The air was cool and refreshing, with a light salty fragrance laced upon it, and she could feel the sun warming her back. The unmistakable characteristics of a beach were far from anything Lilli had ever woken up to, and when she finally dared to open an eye, her suspicions were confirmed. She came to the conclusion that she must still be dreaming, because when she opened her eyes she not only saw a beach, but she saw what was without a doubt the Destiny Islands themselves. Everything was exactly as it had appeared in the game; the seaside shack, the bridge, even the little pool of crystal clear water was complete with its own mini waterfall. It was perfect, aside from the fact that there was nobody in sight. _No fair…_ she said to herself. _What's the point of having such a perfect dream if I can't even talk to anybody?_

As Lilli stood up and brushed herself off, she felt a sharp pain in her chest that forcibly reminded her of…_whatever_ that place was that she had been before she arrived here. At remembering how it felt not being able to breathe and the panic it had instilled in her, she gave an involuntary shiver. The pain in her chest slowly faded from a sharp, stabbing feeling to a dull throb. Unnerved, Lilli stood still for a moment, wondering what to do. Upon coming up with nothing but a feeling of blank indecision, she decided to explore. This turned out to be rather boring—Lilli had played Kingdom Hearts so many times that she already knew exactly where everything was, it was as though she had lived there herself.

She had been wandering about for a while and stopped paying much attention to her surroundings. Just as she began to wonder how long this dream was going to drag on, she tripped over a particularly large and jagged (as well as unexpected) rock that had been partially buried beneath the fine sand. She toppled unceremoniously to the ground, issuing a small shriek as she did. Cursing herself inwardly for becoming so oblivious to her surroundings, Lilli moved herself to a sitting position and examined her exposed shin where it had made contact with the rock. It hurt a fair amount—there was a scrape, and a cut about two inches long that was bleeding. Fuming at herself for being such a klutz, she picked herself up and limped over to where the pool of water resided. She splashed the cool water over the scrape, washing the blood away—which turned out to be pointless as it continued to bleed anyway. _How do I always manage to get myself into such stupid situations? It's not like I carry a bandage around with me just in case I _happen_ to smash my leg on a rock…if I can't wrap this up it's just going to keep bleeding…and I'm all alone too. _She couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for herself; today was definitely not her day. Then her logic kicked in as she remembered something that was said to be true about dreams. _You're not supposed to be able to feel pain. Come to think of it, not being able to breathe had hurt too. Could that mean…I'm really not dreaming? …No, that's completely impossible. _Lilli was so caught up in the battle between the two equally logical thoughts in her head that she failed to notice the person approaching her.

X X X

Riku walked along the beach alone, deep in thought. He was still flustered from the dream he had had the night before—he couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the girl that he had seen in such a state of distress. He was sure that he had never seen her before; why did he have such an unnerving dream about someone he had never met? As he tried to shrug off the foreboding feeling it gave him, he heard a small shriek followed by a dull thud. Riku peered around, searching for the source of the outburst. He was curious, as it was not a voice he recognized, and began heading in the direction of the noise. Just as he rounded the area that curved beneath the bridge, he saw a girl seated by the water fountain, nursing a bleeding leg. As he drew closer he immediately recognized the girl as the one from his dream—he was very intrigued by this point. She appeared to be thinking, because she didn't look up until Riku's shadow was cast over her.

X X X

Feeling the warmth of the sun leave her, Lilli looked up to see a familiar figure standing over her. She gasped in surprise when it became clear that it was Riku Whohasnolastname! She just stared at him in shock for a few seconds before regaining her ability to speak, and then further embarrassed herself by only being able to force herself to utter a feeble, "H-hi…". _Nice first impression! _She thought sarcastically. He was looking at her very curiously; Lilli wasn't sure what to think.

Riku was so caught up in his thoughts that it took him a moment to realize that he was staring. It looked as though he was making the girl uncomfortable; realizing his actions, he smiled and said, "I heard a scream, and when I came to find where the noise came from I found you."

She just continued looking at him in disbelief. Then she said, "Oh…yeah, that was me, uh…sorry about that…" _Crap, I sound like a moron!_

"It looks like you got a pretty nasty cut on your leg. Are you okay?" he said.

Lilli looked down at her leg, which had been forgotten in her state of confusion, only to see that it was continuing to bleed profusely. "Oh, that. I, uh…walked into a rock…" she trailed off embarrassedly. She felt so stupid.

"Was it a really sharp one over that way?" he asked, pointing. She nodded. "I wouldn't feel too bad about that. You're not the first one to come into contact with it," He looked at her leg again. "You've lost a lot of blood already, I think it would be best if that were wrapped up," He said, thinking she probably already knew this. Then he thought that she looked so confused that she might not have somewhere to go; she definitely didn't seem to know what she was doing here. "Wait here, I'll be right back," he said, abruptly turning to walk briskly away in the direction he came, leaving Lilli to stare confusedly at his receding form.

X X X

After about ten minutes or so, Lilli could see Riku coming back. He was carrying a first-aid kit with him; as he approached Lilli thought how differently he acted than what she would expect from what she knew (admittedly this isn't very much; there really isn't a lot of Riku in the games if you add it all up). It wasn't as though she expected him to be mean or anything, he was just a lot more…social? She couldn't really think of the right word. She shook herself from her thoughts as Riku came within hearing range; she waved in greeting.

Riku examined her leg once more as he approached. _That really is a nasty scrape she gave herself… _he thought. "How's it feeling?" he asked, sitting beside her and opening the first-aid kit. She shrugged, indicating that there was not much change since when he had left; he nodded. He pulled out a cloth and dipped it into the water. Lilli watched as he brought it up to wipe the blood away, wincing slightly as it made contact with her skin; it hurt! The pain disappeared in a few seconds however, and Lilli relaxed a little as she felt the cool water run down her leg. As he got closer to the wound, Riku became more gentle, trying not to hurt her as best he could.

Lilli couldn't believe how gentle he was being—this was nothing like the Riku she would have expected. He was so…_nice_; and they had only just met—or rather he had only just met Lilli. _How did he get so good at this?_ She wondered. _It barely hurts at all. _When he finished, he pulled a gauze bandage from the kit, placing it over the injury and wrapping a bandage around it to keep it in place.

"There," he said, eyeing his handiwork. "I think that should do for now." He looked up at the girl to see her still watching him; when he noticed she looked away quickly, her already naturally pink cheeks darkening just a little.

"Um, thank you…I feel better now." She said, even though she knew it wasn't completely true. She smiled weakly.

Riku couldn't help but be a little amused at this; he had a feeling she was saying that more out of gratitude than from actually feeling better. Nevertheless, he appreciated her politeness. Then he realized something. _I don't even know her name._ He shifted to a more comfortable position on the admittedly uncomfortable layer of packed sand and smooth pebbles beneath him. Turning to face the girl, he asked un a conversational tone of voice, "What's your name?"

_My name? _Lilli thought back on their sort-of conversation from before and realized that he was right. _I can't believe he did all that without even knowing what I'm doing here, much less my name! _"It's Lilli." It was the first thing she had said without an ounce of doubt in her voice. _At least there's something here that I can still be totally sure of._

"Lilli…" Riku repeated the name. "…I'm Riku." He said.

"I know." Lilli blurted out. She immediately recognized her mistake, and as Riku gave her a curious look she corrected herself, "er, that is…I mean—it's nice to meet you." She finished a bit lamely. _What is the matter with me today?_ _I can't seem to get anything right… _

Riku could sense her tension, and he wondered just what it was that was troubling her. He had been very intrigued by this girl since he had first found her, and was trying to make a good impression on her. She triggered a curiosity in him that could only be compared to when he was building the raft with Sora and Kairi; he had wanted to know what was out there, and now that he knew he had been under the impression that he would never be so curious again. Well, now there was something he wanted to know about; determination was not something he was lacking, and he intended to find out what was so different about Lilli. He looked at her and said with genuine concern, "Is there something that's bothering you?"

Lilli was halfway between bursting out laughing and bursting into tears. Was something bothering her?! _Ha, some_ things_ maybe, I haven't the slightest clue what I'm doing here, let alone talking to a fictional character—I actually was wondering about why _he _was acting differently…It's not him at all, it's me! I must be completely _insaneBut instead of saying all this, she simply shook her head, saying, "Yeah, I guess there is, but it's not exactly something that could be helped by another person…" _And now I'm turning down help that wasn't offered… _She fell into another bout of angry thoughts directed at herself before she mentally shook herself. _Get a hold of yourself, Lilli! This is no time to be having a pity party! _And thus she continued with her attempt at revving herself up for…whatever it was she should be prepared for, but with the events of the last few hours she didn't doubt that there would be _something_.

Riku watched Lilli as she was appearing to have some sort of internal battle with herself for a few more minutes before deciding that, if only entertaining, it was probably not good for her to be doing that for an extended period. He reached over and touched her shoulder lightly, which caused her to jump about a foot in the air from surprise. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said. "I was just wondering how long you were going to sit with that expression on you face." He said this good-naturedly so as not to make Lilli think he was getting annoyed with her; on the contrary he found her very interesting.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry, you must think I'm totally crazy!" she said, her cheeks blossoming pink for a second time. Riku was tempted to laugh out loud.

"Not at all," he said, smiling. "So, where are you from anyway?" he inquired, changing the subject.

"Uh…America…" she wasn't sure Earth was even included at all in this 'fictional' world. Seeing no recognition on Riku's face, she tried, "You know, Earth…?" this confirmed what she had guessed. Wherever she was in the universe, it was certainly nowhere near her home. She wondered why this fact didn't scare her more. "It's…it's a different world from this one." She finished, explaining in the best way she could think of to be something Riku would relate to. He knew about other worlds, and he also knew that he _didn't _ know about all of them, so he wasn't surprised hearing such a cliché phrase.

"Oh, I see." He didn't really, but he understood what she meant, so he moved on to a different question. "So, how did you end up getting here?" he had been waiting to ask this; it wasn't as though he expected her to know, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Well…" Lilli was not sure whether she should be hesitant to tell him this, but she supposed that the worst that could happen was that he would not believe her story—Lilli herself wasn't even sure if she did."I went to sleep in my own bed just last night…I'm not really sure how it happened, I just woke up here." She amazed herself when she heard how level her voice was, as if she were talking about the time of day rather than being warped into a completely different world.

"Do you remember anything between when you went to sleep and when you woke up?" Riku asked, traces of excitement edging their way into his voice.

Lilli gave an involuntary shiver. "I wish I didn't. I had a nightmare, to say the least." Without noticing she started biting her lip. When she saw curiosity and disappointment flash on his face before he masked it again with a friendly expression, she thought of a question of her own. "Why, is there something you want to know specifically? Because if there is it might be easier for both of us if you were to just say it outright," she forgot her nervousness, regaining her usual confidence which resulted in her coming across as a little blunt (not rude though).

Riku noticed her sudden change in attitude as well; she seemed more comfortable now. This took some of the pressure off of himself as well. He said, "There is—well, sort of…" _I'm going to sound ridiculous saying this out loud…_ "Well, I guess you could say that I recognize you from somewhere." He said, buying himself a few seconds to think of the most normal way to phrase his question. "Well…can you remember anything from last night that could relate more specifically to you getting here?" It was a vague reference, but better than, 'I had a dream last night with you in it. Would you happen to remember seeing me before being swallowed by the air surrounding you?' Talk about ridiculous.

Lilli's mind was working hard. _What could he be so curious about? _Then it dawned on her as she remembered her dream again. _Is there some way that he had the same dream as me? I bet that's why he helped me, too! So, he's just curious about me? I should've known… _She knew that this notion was absurd, but not any more so than everything else that had happened; besides it was the best reason she could think of at the moments so she didn't question it. "Well…" she said again. Whether or not her idea turned out to be correct, it was difficult to come up with a way to explain this.She came up with very little of anything that sounded even remotely sane, so she just settled on asking a question instead. "You…said you recognize me?" she voiced hesitantly, knowing that she was evading explaining what Riku really wanted to know.

He looked thoughtful for a moment before deciding to try a more direct approach. Trying as best he could to forget about feeling foolish, he asked, "Before you got here, did you see me? Were you somewhere…foreign…or, not foreign, more like unearthly…?" he trailed off.

Half of Lilli wanted to believe that Riku was talking about what she thought he was talking about, but the other half didn't dare to believe in it. _Still, it sounds so similar…what else _could _he be talking about? _Slowly, because she couldn't think of anything to say, she nodded.

Riku's expression cleared; he felt much better knowing that he hadn't been simply hallucinating. However, he could feel his limbs becoming stiff beneath him after sitting on such an uncomfortable seat for so long. As he breathed an audible sigh of relief, having received confirmation of his sanity, he said, "Why don't we finish this conversation another time? You probably should be resting your leg anyway; it's already swelling a little." He saw a thoughtful, if not concerned expression appear on Lilli's face, and he remembered how Lilli had gotten here. "That's right, you haven't been here before…" he said. When she shook her head, he continued, "Which means that you have no place to stay, unless you have money for a hotel…" his obviously untrue suggestion was confirmed when Lilli said nothing, and Riku thought for a second before speaking again. He knew that there was a guest room at his house, and decided that the best thing he could do right now was offer it to her and hope she didn't mind. "Well, if it doesn't bother you, you're welcome to stay at my house."

Lilli looked at him incredulously. _If it doesn't bother me? I've been rendered basically homeless, of course it doesn't bother me!_ Completely masking the more excited 'inner' thoughts, she said politely, "I don't mind at all. Thank you for offering, since I don't know where I would have gone otherwise." She gave a gracious smile, all part of the etiquette she had fallen into the habit of using while growing up, and was about to stand up when her leg started throbbing again. She tried her best to ignore it—she didn't want to be any more of a burden than she had been already—and stood up, grimacing with pain as she did so. The pain intensified, and she gritted her teeth as she tried to take a step forward; she gingerly put some of her weight on the injured leg, realizing that it was going to be extremely resistant to holding anything at all. As she put a little more weight on it, trying to be as careful as she could, it simply refused to cooperate and collapsed underneath her. She let out a small yelp of pain, and Riku caught her just before she fell knees-first into the ground.

"You alright?" he asked, a hint of concern evident in his voice as she sat back down dejectedly.

"I'm fine," she lied, annoyed at her limitations. She was determined to try again, and as she got up—falling a second time—Riku decided that she wouldn't be able to get anywhere on her own in her current condition.

"You're not fine," he said, reaching around her to support her beneath her arms. She could stand considerably more easily but didn't like the idea of having someone offer help to her, because to her that could only mean that he thought she was too helpless to help herself. She did not like making that impression.

"Really, I can—ah!" she was cut off as Riku let the muscles in his arm fall slack, and she dropped sharply before he pulled her up again just as she was about to hit the ground again.

"You can what, now?" he said, letting her know that he had proved his point. She flushed.

"Well, maybe I can't," she admitteddejectedly. "I just don't want to be a pain."

Riku had had a feeling that this was why she had been so resistant, which is why he had let her try a few times before insisting on helping her. "Really, it's fine," he assured her. "Come on."

Lilli finally gave in and allowed him to help her hobble to his house, which thankfully wasn't far. He opened the front door and led her into the kitchen, where she sat down gratefully in a chair seated in front of a round oak table. She took a survey of her surroundings, seeing as this was really the first place she had been since she got here that she hadn't seen before. They were in a mid-sized kitchen with oak furniture and light cream-colored walls. A tiled floor brought the neutral colors of the room together; altogether it was a very tastefully decorated kitchen. _I wonder about his family…they're never mentioned in the games._ she pondered, examining the bowl of fruit sitting in the middle of the table.

Riku watched in silence as hazelnut eyes skimmed the room. She silently took in her new surroundings, her eyes finally coming to a stop on the fruit bowl. He let her sit for another five minutes or so before clearing his throat slightly to indicate that he had something to say. She looked at him with a curious, somewhat apologetic face. He was going to say something of more significance, but for some reason whatever it was had been wiped out of his mind when she turned to face him. Thinking of something else to say, he asked, "Would you like anything to eat?"

Lilli's stomach growled as the first thought of food she had had all day entered her mind; she hadn't realized how hungry she was. But it made sense, considering the exhaustion that the morning's events had caused her. "Um, thank you. Can I have one of those oranges?" she eyed the fruit hungrily.

Riku smiled (_Why is he being so friendly? Is he always like this with people he's just met?) _and said, "Help yourself; you're welcome to take more than one if you'd like," She nodded, taking an orange. She had noticed a roll of paper towels sitting on the counter, and got up to go get one for herself, having completely forgotten her leg yet again. She stood and gasped in surprise at the pain, immediately picking up her foot and sitting back down. _How many stupid things can I manage to do in one day? Geez…_

Riku watched as Lilli attempted to stand, and he was about to say something when she appeared to have figured it out for herself. A frown settled on her face as she sat back down with understandable exasperation. "Hey, take it easy," he said, moving in front of her and asking, "What were you going to get?" he asked.

_I can't believe this… _"Er, I was just going to get something to set this on…" she indicated the orange. "I can't believe I forgot so quickly," she said, trying to hide her negative attitude as best as possible. _This is definitely the weirdest—not to mention unexpected—thing to ever happen to me, but I made a promise to myself a long time ago that I wouldn't keep putting myself down! Now, I have to keep it together and focus on the positive aspects…I don't know how or why I got here, but I might as well enjoy it! _She convinced herself while Riku went to get a plate.

He walked back to the table and sat down with plate and a knife in hand. He grabbed the orange in front of Lilli and started cutting it into slices, setting it between them on the table when he finished. As Lilli took a slice, Riku helped himself to one as well. "So, let's go over what I've found out so far. Your name is Lilli, and you're from another world. You seem to have had the same dream that I did last night, and then you ended up here and hurt your leg, where I found you and brought you here." She nodded, staring thoughtfully at the rind of her now eaten orange slice.

"That pretty much sums it up," she finished for him, deciding that she would leave out the part about her already having known all about him and his world, not to mention his friends. She didn't think it would be such a great idea to put such a strain on him like that—at least not today. _That still leaves a lot of questions unanswered, though._ She reminded herself.

"Well, that's a start, I suppose…but it still leaves a lot of questions unanswered," Riku said, voicing Lilli's thoughts. She looked at him peculiarly. "Is there something wrong?" he asked, ignoring all the obvious answers to that question.

"No, I was just thinking the same thing, that's all…" she said distractedly; it was obvious that her leg was still bothering her—or that's what Riku thought. But instead of her leg, Lilli's hand went up to her heart, and she grimaced faintly. She subconsciously reached up to her collarbone, as if she were searching for something to be there. When her hand came in contact with nothing, she closed it as though holding an invisible necklace.

Riku was starting to get concerned; was there something else wrong that she hadn't said anything about, or was he just being paranoid? Either way, he decided to show her the guest room as soon as she finished eating. He watched as she finished what was on her plate and proceeded to slice another orange. She consumed this one in a matter of minutes as well, and would have taken another had she been at her own house, but she didn't want to be too imposing, so she refrained and sat back in her chair, sighing.

"Feel any better now?" he asked. She nodded, though two oranges hadn't done much to fill her stomach. They had, however, boosted her energy a little bit, and she was feeling a little bit better.

Riku stood up and took care of the mess that had been left over—the plate, knife, and a pile of orange peels. He went back over to Lilli and told her, "If you're feeling up to it, I'll take you upstairs to our guest room, where you'll be sleeping."

"O-okay…yeah, I'd like to get situated anyway," she was trying to suppress the nerves that had suddenly emerged again—probably from embarrassing herself so many times.

Riku smiled again (_Why does he keep doing that?_) and held out a hand to help her up. She took it and stood shakily, but still at her full height—she was going to do everything she could manage. They began moving in the same fashion as before, which worked well enough—until they reached the stairs, at least. Lilli looked them up and down, thinking that this was going to be the longest flight of stairs she had ever climbed.

She didn't say anything and looked determinedly at the stairs, once again pushing the negative thoughts out of her mind. _Don't make this seem harder than it has to be. _She told herself. _This should be no trouble at all! In fact, there's an advantage to be seen here. If I can make it up these stairs without help, maybe Riku won't think I'm as weak as I've appeared to be up until now._

Riku glanced at her injured leg and then at the stairs. "…that could be a problem," he said. Lilli shook her head.

"No…it's not a problem," she stated confidently. She grabbed the banister with one hand and the hand rail with the other. Riku was about to offer his support again when she shook her head a second time, indicating that she wanted to do this by herself. "I can do it." She gave him a reassuring look as she used the sturdy wooden supports to hoist herself up on her good leg (the right one), and hopped up the entire flight of stairs this way. The whole process took over a minute, but that didn't matter to Lilli. What was important to her was that she had made it to the top all on her own. When she reached the landing, she stood and leaned on the banister, panting slightly from the exertion.

Riku hadn't been far behind, needless to say, and had watched Lilli as she made her own way without any help at all. _Maybe I underestimated her._ He thought. _At any rate, I should have given her more credit than I did. It wasn't the hardest thing in the world, but I imagine she's still in pain. _He gave her a very genuine smile, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry for counting you out like that; you're obviously more determined than I gave you credit for."

Lilli was happy; he had understood her intentions perfectly. However, as much as she hated to admit it, she was fading fast. "Which way?" she asked, trying to hide the weariness in her voice.

Riku pointed to the right inside the open entrance to the hallway that branched off of the landing. "Last on the right," he said, leading the way. This time he didn't try to help her right away; he would let her try on her own first. _If she gets too tired I'll help, but she just showed me that she isn't helpless. She doesn't want me to think so, either. _He walked a little ahead of her and stopped at the right door, turning around to make sure she was making it all right.

Lilli's newfound boost of confidence, coupled with the short distance she had to walk, Lilli found herself limping after Riku down the hall. It hurt, but she focused intently on her destination to distract her mind from the pain. Riku was waiting for her now; he stood patiently at the end of the hall beside the door. When she reached the door, Riku extended his hand for her if she wanted it. _I'm tired…I think I've done enough to show him what I wanted to. _She took it, and they proceeded inside and Lilli promptly sat down on the bed, exhausted.

"You should sleep," Riku told her. Lilli nodded; she was too tired to argue. She crawled under the covers and closed her eyes. Waves of wonderful, sound sleep washed over her as she thought that this was likely to be the deepest sleep she had gotten in a long while. Just before she fell asleep, she thought about how she was going to tell Riku about her knowledge of this world, his life for the past two years. _I'm too tired…I'll worry about it later… _It was her last thought before she let her mind slip into welcome oblivion.

A/N: Oh my, that was so hard! I'm sorry if it's going too slowly, but I will bet you anything that it went much slower for me than it did you. Please R&R, I would really love some constructive criticism from you! - Hopefully I will update more quickly from now on…


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